Apparatus for cutting textile materials



July 1, 1930. w. BERRY APPARATUS FOR CUTTING TEXTILE MATERIALS 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 31, 1925 llll W1 TNESSES July 1, 1930. w.BERRY I APPARATUS FOR CUTTING TEXTILE HATERIALS 2 sheets-sheet 2.

Filed Oct. 31, 1925 INVENTOR: William Berry, BY 1 W ATTORNEYS.

WITNESSES WILLIAM BERRY, OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, .ASSIGNOR TO JOSEPHBANOROFT &'

.SONS (30., OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE APPARATUSFoe CUTTING 'rnx rrrn MATERIALS Application filed October 31, 1925.Serial 1%. 65,938.

This invention is concerned withcontinuous cutting of materials such astextile fabrics,n10re specifically bias cuttingi. e.,

into strips wherein the warp and weft threads occupy angular positionsrelative to the side edges of the strips. As is well known, such stripsa-re',as the result of bias cutting, capable of withstanding greaterlongitudinal and lateral strainsthan a corresponding width of theoriginal fabric, and are therefore preferred in the arts where theconsideration of tensile strength is highly important, e. g.,in wrappingor covering wire; in securing thermo-insulating' material about pipes orconduits; in the manu facture of vehicle tires; etc.

Concisely stated, the main objects of my invention are to enable fabricwoven in tubular form to be cutinto a continuous bias 2 strip, and toprovide a simple and efficient apparatus for this purpose;

Other objects and advantages will be readily apparent from the followingdetailed description of this invention.

In the drawings, Fig. I- is a plan view, more or less diagrammaticallyrepresented, of a cutting apparatus conveniently typifying my invention.

Fig; II is a side'elevation of the same.

Fig. III is a View taken as indicated by the arrows III--III in Fig. II;and

Fig. IV is a detail illustration of the out ting means with the mountingtherefor in section.

Referring first more particularly to Figs. I and II of the drawings, itwill be observed that the tubular material indicated conventionally at Fis supplied from a bolt or roll R and passed over and about amandrel 1.This mandrel 1 is slightly tapered or conical as shown so as tofacilitate opening and passage thereover' of the tubular fabric F, andfor another purpose to be hereinafter explained. The mandrel 1 maybemade solid, although to secure the advantage of Y lightness, it ispreferably constructedof sheet metal and secured upon an axiallydisposed shaft 2 that is' journalled in bearings 3, beyond the largerand of said mandrel, the bearings?) being supported by an appropriateframework 1. A guard 5 of 2 sheet metal or the like extends about oneside and over the top of the bearings 3 to prevent access of thematerial F to them. By the described arrangement, the mandrel l issupported entirely clear of obstruction at the forward end, and free torespond to induced rotation either in following the movement of fabricthereover, or under positive drive of a wheel 6, secured on the shaft 2,capable of being power or manually actuated at a suitable speed inaccordance with the characteristics of the cloth to be out; i. e., withregard to whether it is soft, pliable and therefore clinging, or'comparatively stiff as a result of sizing ;all for the purpose ofavoiding unnecessary drag and insuring a clean and accurate cut, ashere'- inafter more fully explained.

Spreading and smoothing of the tubular material F in its passage to themandrel 1 is accomplished by what may be conveniently termed a spreader,indicated at 7 in the drawings. This spreader 7 comprises'a plate orboard 8 with a circular opening 9 through which the smaller or receivingend of the mandrel 1 projects with allowance of a slight amount ofcircumferential clearance therea'bout, as shown in Fig, III. The edgeofthe circular opening 9 is preferably rounded to facilitate passage ofthe material F therethrough. A pair of uprights 10 rising from the floorserve to support the member 8 in fixed relation to the mandrel 1. y

Asa result of combined longitudinal and rotational progression inducedin a manner to be presently described, the tubular fabric F is movedspirally ofthe drum 1 past a cutting means shown at 11. This cuttingmeans 11 is located at the surface of the drum 1, and comprisesa fixedhorizontal shear blade 12, and a cooperating movable shear blade 13which is pivoted at 14 to an integral upright extension or arm 15 of thefixed blade 12. This arm 15 is secured by stance as a convenientmeansfor actuating the movable blade 13.. 'lo the shaft 18 of the motor 17 isaffixed an eccentric cam 19 wherewith the movable shear blade 13 ismaintained in operative contact by a contractile spring 20 in tensionbetween said movable shear blade 13 and the arm 15 of the fixed blade12. Thus, by operation of the motor 17, the movable shear blade 13 isconstantly vibrated toward and away from the fixed blade 12. In order topermit adjustment of the shear blades 12, 13 relative to the mandrel 1for the purpose of varying the angles of the bias cut, a swivel clampscrew 21 is employed to fasten the motor 17 to a bracket 22 provided forits support,

The clamp screw 21 passes through an elongated slot 23 in the bracket 22so that the cutting means 11, in addition to capacit for angularadjustment, as above explaine can be bodily shifted longitudinally ofthe mandrel 1 to properly position the shears 12, 13 at the region wherethe tubular material F is substantially fully expanded on the drum 1, oras required for tubular material of different diameters.

Rotative movement of the fabric F, while passing over the rotatingmandrel 1, may be imparted for example, through bodily rotation of thebolt or roll R from which the fabric is supplied. To this end, I providea rotating holder device for the fabric bolt or roll R which holderdevice 24, as shown in Figs. I and II of the drawings, is locatedclosely adjacent to the forward end of the mandrel 1. This holder 24comprises a yoke 25 between the extremities of which an axle shaft 26for the bolt or roll R is removably mounted to permit substitution of anew bolt or roll for one previously exhausted. A simple arrangementenabling such substitution is by recessing the extremities of the yoke25, as shown at 27, to receive and support the ends of the axle shaft26, and by employing removable pins 28 to retain said shaft ends inplace in the recesses 27. The yoke 25 is fixed to the end of a shaft 29which is substantially axially aligned relative to the drum 1; and it isjournalled in bearings 30 on the frame 31 of the. holder device 24. Ifdesired, the holder may be positively driven by a pulley 32 on the shaft29 to facilitate and assist in rotation of the tubular material inpassing to the mandrel 1. As a consequence of the rotative movementimparted to the tubular material F in the manner suggested, saidmaterial yields readily to being opened enroute to the mandrel 1, suchopening being greatly eased by the spreading and smoothing action of thespreader 7. Attention is also directed to the fact that the roll or boltR, by reason of its free mounting in the yoke 25 of the holder device24, will respond readily to turning in satisfying the longitudinalprogression of the material induced as already stated, concurrently withrotation, to determine spiral travel relative to the mandrel l; and, ifdesired or required, said mandrel 1 may be positively driven, aspreviously stated, through power applied to the wheel 6.

As the material F is passed edge-wise between the shears 12, 13 itfollows, in view of the spiral movement imparted thereto, that it is cutat an angle with resulting production of a single continuous bias stripS. This strip S is drawn tangentially at an angle from the surface ofthe mandrel 1 by superposed nip or draft rolls 33, whose axes areinclined to that of said mandrel, as shown in Fig. I, to determine thedesired angular travel of the cut strip S. The draft rolls 33 arejournalled at opposite ends in bearings of appropriate upright frames34, and may be driven by power applicable to a pulley 35 provided forthe purpose. By this arrangement,it will be obvious that the pull uponthe cut strip S causes the material to be drawn between the shear blades12, 13; and, concurrently, to be advanced longitudinally along themandrel 1. Also, the strip S tends to cause the mandrel l to revolve andin this way assists in inducing rotation of the material. By use of myimproved apparatus, the material may be easily cut or split by a verylight pull on the strip S to the avoidance of any injurious straining,the cutting means 11 being in practice adjusted to prevent any suchcontingency, to a point in advance of the region of full expansion ofthe tube F on the mandrel 1, so that said tube F can never be stretchedto the extent of resisting its progress on said mandrel. Therefore byuse of a mandrel 1 of the proper taper, I am able to insure delivery ofthe material to the cutting means 11 with the minimum amount of tensionand without necessitating aid of drawing devices other than the niprolls 33. With comparatively stiff orsized material, it is quitepossible to out without motion of the shear blades 12, 13, the pull onthe strip S suflicing without additional aid. In the case of materialsof a softer texture, motion of the shear blades 12, 13 is desirable sothat stretching or distortion may be avoided.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In apparatus for cutting bias strips from tubular material comprisinga rotating taper mandrel adapted to occupy the tubular material and torotate co-axially therewith, means to cut the material into a continuousstrip, and means to draw upon the cut strip to cause longitudinaladvance of the tubular material on the mandrel.

2. In apparatus for cutting bias strips from tubular material comprisinga rotating frusto-conical mandrel adapted to occuterial, said yoke beingcontiguous to the free end of the mandrel and axially aligned forrotation in unison with the latter, and means to cut the fabric as it isrotated on'the mandrel.

4. In apparatus for cutting bias strips from continuous tubular materialcomprising a rotatingfrusto-conical mandrel over and about which thetubular material is passed, associated cutting means, and means fordrawing the cut strip tangentially at an angle from the rotating mandrelto determine longitudinal advance of the material thereon past thecutting means.

5. In apparatus for cutting bias strips from continuous tubularmaterial, comprising a rotating frusto-conical mandrel over and aboutwhich the tubular material is passed, means whereby said mandrel may bepositively driven, associated cutting means, and means for drawing thecut strip tangentially at an angle from the rotating mandrel todetermine longitudinal advance of the tubular material thereon past thecutting means.

6. A machine for cutting bias strips from continuous tubular materialcomprising a rotating frusto-conical mandrel over and about which thetubular fabric is passed, a wheel on the axis of said mandrel whereby itmay be positively driven, means for cutting the material into a strip,and means for drawing the cut strip tangentially at an angle from therotating mandrel to determine longitudinal advance of the tubularmaterial thereon past the cutting means.

7. A machine for cutting bias strips comprising a rotatablefrusto-conical mandrel fixed against longitudinal movement and adaptedto occupy and rotate with it a sleeve of fabric, a knife to out saidfabric to form 9. A machine for making bias strips comprising a mandrelrotatably secured at one end, a'yoke with means for holding a roll offabric, the yoke being rotatable with its centre of rotationsubstantially in line with the centre of rotation of the mandrel, thefree end of the mandrel being contiguous with the yoke so that when thefabric from the roll is passed over the mandrel and the mandrel isrotated, the yoke is rotated with P it, and a knife for cutting thefabric as it is rotated on the mandrel.

10. A machine for cutting bias strips comprising a rotatable mandrelfixed against longitudinal movement and adapted to occupy and rotatewith a sleeve of fabric, means for cutting said fabric to form a strip,and take-up means for pulling on the cut strip at an oblique angle tothe mandrel and thereby causing the sleeve to move longitudinally on themandrel, as well as to turn.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name at Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, this 30th day of October, 1925.

WILLIAM BERRY.

a strip, and take-up means for pulling on the strip as it comes from theknife and to cause the sleeve to move longitudinally on the mandrel.

8. A machine for cutting bias strips comprising a rotatablefrusto-conical mandrel fixed against longitudinal movement and adaptedto occupy and rotate with it a sleeve of fabric, a knife to cut thefabric and a take-up means arranged at an angle to the mandrel to pullthe cut strip and to cause the sleeve to move longitudinally on themandrel.

